Being passive aggressive refers to expressing negative emotions such as anger, resentment, or hostility—indirectly. If you’ve ever felt undermined by a colleague at work or subtly mocked by a friend, you may have been the recipient of passive aggressive behavior. Instead of being overtly aggressive, passive aggressive people communicate their frustrations in ways that appear innocuous on the surface. Some people engage in passive aggressive behavior only once in a while or in certain contexts. Others develop an unhealthy pattern of masking their harmful motives. Learn more about what it means to be passive aggressive, include common causes and examples…

This is a story about emotional intelligence and winning arguments. Let's start by ensuring we're on the same page regarding the definitions of three key terms. Get these right, and you're halfway there. First, "winning." For our purposes, a winning argument is one from which you emerge in a position that makes it more likely you will achieve your ultimate goals than you were before. It often does not mean convincing the other side that you are right and they are wrong. How often does that happen, anyway? In fact, when we talk about "winning arguments," don't think of "winning"…

We bought a house that needs a lot of work. Qest water pipes. Roof near the end of its lifespan. Kitchen that is (literally, not aesthetically) barely functional. Two unfinished rooms. I can go on and on. We knew all that when we bought it, but figuring out where to start was surprisingly hard. Replace the Qest pipes? Absolutely. But then again, we also need to move the hot water heater, plan for a new master bath, decide whether to turn an existing full bath into a half bath, figure out where we'll put the washer/dryer hookups... every decision creates…

A non-stressful approach to figuring out what guides you. It might have been a minute since you paused to consider your life’s purpose — if you ever have at all. It can be an overwhelming question, lofty and existential, and according to the people who study it, one that is frequently misunderstood. “‘Purpose’ is conflated with lots of other words,” says William Damon, a professor of education at Stanford University, “like ‘meaning’ and ‘passion.’” Purpose, however, is something different — it’s broader than a goal, but it’s the guiding motivation that gives your life a sense of direction. According to…